This is a vintage Kyosho Optima. Using legacy AM radio and brushed ESC/motor.
It runs fine 🙂
The Kyosho Optima is far more than just a vintage radio‑controlled buggy; it is a genuine turning point in the history of electric off‑road racing. When Kyosho first released the original Optima in September 1985, the RC world was still largely dominated by two‑wheel‑drive machines, and few believed that a four‑wheel‑drive buggy could offer the same agility and speed on dirt tracks. The Optima proved them wrong almost immediately, thanks to its radically innovative design. It retained the robust ladder frame and rear‑motor layout that had made Kyosho’s earlier Scorpion series so popular, but added a durable chain‑drive system that routed power to the front wheels, giving drivers an entirely new level of traction and cornering confidence. That chain‑driven four‑wheel‑drive setup became the Optima’s signature, and its success on the track was so immediate that the car quickly established itself as a top‑tier competition model, setting a new benchmark for the entire industry.
Riding that wave of success, Kyosho wasted no time in developing more potent variants, and the Turbo Optima arrived in 1986 as the most powerful machine in the family. It came straight from the factory with large‑diameter tyres, large‑capacity pressure dampers, front and rear stabilisers, and the legendary Le Mans 240S motor, all wrapped around a strikingly simple yet rigid aluminium backbone chassis. The gold anodised aluminium parts that adorned the Turbo Optima were optional at the time but later became a hallmark of the series, and the car’s reputation was so enduring that Kyosho eventually revived it as the seventh model in their Vintage Series, updating it for modern 8.4‑volt power while faithfully preserving the look and feel of the original. Yet the most dramatic chapter in the Optima story was still to come, and it unfolded in 1987 at the second IFMAR Electric Off‑Road Car World Championship in England. Kyosho entered the 4WD class with a prototype that repositioned the motor to a mid‑engine layout, a radical departure from the traditional rear‑motor design. The car, then tentatively called the Mid‑Optima, made an electrifying debut by placing five of its entries in the A‑main final, occupying half of the ten starting spots, and ultimately securing a second‑place finish that stunned the racing world. That prototype was quickly commercialised as the Optima Mid, and its midship motor configuration proved so effective that it eventually became the blueprint for virtually every modern racing buggy, a legacy that few other RC cars can claim.
The evolution did not stop there, because in 1988 Kyosho released the limited‑edition Turbo Optima Mid Special, which stretched the wheelbase by eighteen millimetres over the standard Optima Mid to improve high‑speed stability and sharpen cornering response. Its main chassis was constructed from FRP sandwiched between carbon plates, striking a delicate balance between flexibility and rigidity, and the model sold out almost instantly, a testament to its overwhelming appeal among serious racers. Around the same time, Kyosho also unveiled the Optima Pro in 1987, which retained the familiar ladder frame and drive system but introduced a slim aerodynamic body and underbody, along with revised mounting positions for the battery and steering servo that concentrated the heaviest components at the centre of the chassis for better weight distribution. Although the Optima Pro was only in production for about six months, its impact was profound enough to earn it a revival as the fifteenth model in Kyosho’s Vintage Series, allowing a new generation of enthusiasts to experience its unique handling characteristics.
In recent years, Kyosho has undertaken a remarkable programme of re‑releases, bringing these iconic machines back to life with thoughtful modern updates that respect their heritage while embracing contemporary performance standards. The Vintage Series now includes faithful reproductions of the Optima, the Turbo Optima, the Optima Mid, the Optima Pro, and the Turbo Optima Mid Special, each retaining the fundamental design of the original while incorporating improvements such as belt‑type four‑wheel‑drive systems for better efficiency, 48‑pitch gears for more precise gearing, adjustable belt tensioners that were unavailable at the time, and reinforced slipper clutches to handle the torque of modern brushless motors. The Optima Pro revival even offers the option to switch between belt drive and the classic chain drive by purchasing a separate chain, giving owners the best of both worlds. Most recently, the Turbo Optima Mid Special was released in 2025 as the eighteenth volume of the Vintage Series, featuring eight newly designed parts and a host of previously optional components as standard equipment, ensuring that it is not merely a nostalgia piece but a fully capable machine ready for today’s racing circuits. From its groundbreaking debut in 1985 to its celebrated modern reincarnations, the Kyosho Optima series stands as a testament to the golden age of electric off‑road racing, a technical masterpiece whose innovative spirit and race‑winning pedigree continue to inspire collectors and drivers alike.
